Coronado School of the Arts (CoSA) supporters were ready for takeoff when they attended the CoSA Digital Arts “Explore With Us” expo on Thursday, February 22. From 6 to 8 pm, following CoSA Visual Arts’ lead, guests filtered into the Black Box Theatre at 650 D Avenue. People packed into the space with their “passports,” a pamphlet provided by CoSA students that had stamp sections for each conservatory and a boarding pass style ticket of the event.
Each department of the conservatory was inspired by a different culture at this event: game design was the United States, graphic design was Japan, animation was Mexico, and film was India.
The interactive stands had cultural snacks, decorations, and showcased the art made for the event. Students were in charge of all the marketing and production for the event, which turned out colorful and lively.
“I think this event is super good and you can see that students put in a lot of effort. I love to see all the artwork,” says sophomore Eddie Gonzales.
Game design students worked together to make and code “Chho’s Cup” — a race car game named after the game design teacher, Kong Chho. Guests were encouraged to try playing the game which took players through a race track, then San Francisco, then finally to New York City.
At the animation students’ booth, the seniors played their reels on Macs similar to how film students had their reels playing. Each reel compiled all their best work from their years in CoSA.
Level IV film students were required to do a “Director Study” and “Film Emulation” Project. Hayden Ellinger made “Dead Bulb,” Baxter Simpson made “Jango, Arizona,” and Troy Martin made “Poets.”
Martin shares, “My experience creating a project for this event was very positive. Now in my senior year, I can say I’ve learned a lot about technical skill and coordinating people to actually make a film. My film is a short comedy piece inspired by John Hughes films and aimed to get some good laughs.”
At the Japan booth, Graphic Design senior Virginia Ryan says, “Preparing for the event was very stressful because we had a limited amount of time while working on other projects. But, we got it done and I’m very proud of how united we are! I’m very happy with how my pieces turned out and I’m very proud of my work.”
Inside a tent hung all the graphic design posters made by students; and Pocky was given out to guests to stay on theme with their assigned culture.
It’s clear the amount of excitement CoSA events garner after seeing the large turnout this event had – what a benefit to the Coronado community and art aficionados too!
